4-year prison term in Calif. mortgage fraud scheme

SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — A 39-year-old Northern California man connected to a wide-ranging mortgage-lending scheme has been sentenced to 4 ½ years in prison.

The Sacramento Bee reports (http://bit.ly/1mDotsf) Johnny "Jay" Grivette Jr. was also ordered Tuesday to pay more than $4 million in restitution to a list of lending institutions.

Grivette's Advantage Financial Partners of California was part of Loomis Wealth Solutions, an umbrella firm prosecutors say was a front for a Ponzi scheme that stole $100 million across several states.

When he pleaded guilty in July 2012, Grivette admitted that his company was an integral part of the systemic fraud.

Lawrence Leland "Lee" Loomis is charged in a 50-count grand jury indictment with mail and wire fraud. The newspaper says when Loomis goes to trial, Grivette is likely to be a government witness.